Athens

[Naamah_Darling]

A reformulation and modernization of a true Classical Greek perfume, myrrhine: voluptuous myrrh, golden honey, red wine, and sweet flowers.

 

The honey tops this, a sweet, throaty, thick smell tinged with myrrh.

 

The honey smooths lower in the mix when it's applied, the flowers come up along with a hint of wine. This is so rich, and so full-bodied, that it's a scent to wear with caution. At once sweet and fleshy, definitely voluptuous, I'd call it more womanly than masculine, but there's no reason it wouldn't work well on a man, provided he was okay with smelling like a honeybee.

 

The flowers come out more as it dries, but oddly, they aren't powdery or fake. It's a very true flower scent, like small wildflowers blooming in profusion. The wine never gets too strong; it stays civil throughout and remains in the background all twined up with the myrrh.

 

On drydown, it's a very sweet honey scent, perhaps a little overpowering on my chemistry, or I'm just not in the mood for it. I don't know that I am screaming for a bottle, but I think people who have enjoyed the Lab's honey scents might want to investigate this one. It smells less sugary and modern and more natural and wild than most honey scents.

Edited May 17, 2007 by Naamah_Darling

[WidgetAlley]

Honey is usually okay on me, but sometimes not. Same with wine. Nevertheless, I had an insane urge to try this.

 

In the Imp: Honey! Ya-hoo.... that is some strong honey. It's not too sweet, though, which is really nice, just rich. I can maybe catch a little wine in the background, making it less cloying, and some faint myrrh and florals. It's pretty, but it's a little too heady for me at the moment... so much so that I'm almost a little scared to try it. It reminds me a bit of Queen, and, well, that's not a happy memory.

 

Wet: Dusty rich honey, followed by a wave of myrrh. No floral, and very little wine. At the moment it smells like a book-and-sweets shop. I'll report back in five minutes. .... Hmm. Still almost all dry, honeyed myrrh. I like it, but it's a far cry from the voluptuous feminine scent I expected. Where'd all the headiness go? The throw on this is pure honey, but up close it's almost... proper.

 

Dry: A little sweeter, but still no florals and almost no wine. It's got a nice lasting time and good throw, but it's just not terribly exceptional. I'll hang on to it and use it a bit more and see if it morphs or if the Boy adores it on me, but at the moment Athens is kind of a dud. Ah, well. I'll just have to try Delphi next time.

[Trish]

Myrrh, honey and red wine are usually winners on me, but this was not. It was just waaaaaaaay too sweet for me. At first it's very sweet wine and flowers, then dries to honeyed wine. It's quite nice but ... yeah, too sweet. After several hours or so the wine and flowers fade and the honey is left (I never got the myrrh), reminding me quite a bit of Osun which I like a lot. It has good throw and lasts an insanely long time on me, even through washing and putting another oil over the top. When the second faded Athens was still there!!

[arcticwolf]

ITI: Red wine and myrrh. Boozy scents worry me, but I couldn't resist the mental image of Athens, so I had to get this.

 

Wet: Sweet red wine and myrrh still. Nice though.

 

Dry: Wine, and soft florals. The Myrrh has faded a bit, and some honey is peaking through. Almost a mulled wine feel. Very nice. After even more time, I get more honey. Very sweet scent, with just a little bite.

 

This definitely has an old world feel to it. Maybe that Greek boy I've been lusting after will notice me when I wear this...I'm giving it a try tonight.

[icing]

Athens: Fruit leather and NUTMEG.

[rockchickie]

Wet: This is weird. So when I tried this, I had just hennaed my hair with henna leaf powder and apple juice and...this is what the scent smells like. Henna and apple juice.

Dry: I recognize that the myrrh is what reminds me of the henna but I cannot get that association out of my head.

 

Stays close to the skin. It's interesting and sort of hippie-ish but not for me, I'm afraid.

[kwsix]

In the imp: Thick dark honey with red wine

 

On my skin: Reminiscent of Hetairae with a heavy dose of red wine. Although it's a very sweet blend, the red wine is oddly sour, and I'm not sure that I like it.

 

Drydown: The sourness fades somewhat, and the florals become more prominent. To my nose, it's the same powdery and spicy floral scent that I love in Hetairae, but the wine is still walking all over it.

 

Overall: Athens is fairly true to the decsription. I don't dislike it, although I'm turned off by the sourness of the wine note. The spicy honeyed florals thing is lovely, but I think Hetairae does it much better.

[Jani04]

wet: straight up sweet sweet honey, with a slight floral scent.. kind of pot pourri ish sad to say

first contact: WOW like chocolate and honey??? a very dark heady scent..

dry: still smells like honeyed pot pourri to me..

6 hours later: faint honey floral scent.. still smells like a pot pourri type of incense.. slightly powdery now..

 

after testing this twice.. this imp is up for grabs!

[ceiswyn]

In the bottle: Very fruity, with an almost sour edge like late-night wine; I'm not quite sure whether I like it.

 

On the wrist: That underlying edge of sourness or bitterness has turned into a beautiful 'bite' underlying the tart sweetness. Oh, this is gloriously unusual.

 

One hour later: It hasn't faded much in the last hour (unusually, for my skin) and still smells much the same as it did when I put it on. I am wreathed in a faint aroma of flowers and slightly sour raisins, and a gently woody note of myrrh is starting to show beneath. It's the taste of the third bottle of wine shared between friends under a still night sky where the hammer heat of the day still lingers.

[CrystieSC]

In the imp, this smells sort of bitter, and is very strong.

 

Wet, it is a strong, spicy smell. A lot of scents are mingling and I can't pick out any one note.

 

Dry, it calms down to a light floral scent. Spicy floral - very exotic smelling.

 

An hour later, it is a sweet honey scent - a very true honey scent. I like this one.

[camaro199183]

Great scent! Makes me think of red wine and flowers.

[maribouquet]

imp: honey and fruity wine

wet: the myrrh emerges as well

dry: smoky-sweet honey-wine scent

 

Mm, this is much nicer that I'd expected. (Usually honey and wine are not good notes on me.) And the myrrh makes a beautifully smoky undertone.

[ralenth]

At first, it reminded me of honeyed offering cakes: sticky and sweet. Fine minutes later, it's got spicy tones, and the honey is much more muted. I don't get much wine from this, but Athens does have a pretty, well rounded scent. It's nice, but I'm not convinced I'll need bottles of this any time soon.

 

Edit: The wine note showed up later. Now it makes me want to go get some baklava.

Edited July 12, 2007 by ralenth

[kahmiel]

This is my first review, but I absolutely had to, I was sniffing my (new to me) imps the other night and came across this one and it was the most enchanting smell, like something you almost remember but not quite. Fruit and something else in the bottle. On my skin wet the something else quickly turned to honey OMG stunning let me just say this i love beths honey note I love the scent of honey so much more than i thought i did, i always knew i loved it, now i know i love it. While wet it seems to have a tinge of an odd smell im not quite happy with in the backround...almost like plasticyness. But it quickly fades as this lovely oil dries.

<3 I love this. I want this <3 *adds to the "must buy bottle" list"

 

OMG I woke up this morning and I can still smell it *gasp*

Edited July 28, 2007 by kahmiel

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Red wine

 

On me:

red wine is so hit and miss with me. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's just AWFUL. It can go very bitter on me, and this is one of those cases unfortunately. Behind it, is a sort of honey sweet incense which is very nice. It actually kills the red wine after a while and I'm left with a soft, sweet incense smell. Simple and lovely.

 

Final note:

Despite the rocky start, I think I might have to get a bottle of this!

[Pottersville]

Another losing choice from my first batch of BPAL imps ... and another one that my stupid chemistry amped up to horribly cloying sweetness. I couldn't pick ANY notes out of all that sweet, sticky goo.

[500ml]

To me this was sweet, a bit like bubblegum, in the vial. On the skin it turned into an incensy honey with a slightly sweet tone hanging in the background. Nice throw, it reminded me a bit of Cairo and so it's a blend that definitely works for me.

[MaidenGenevive]

Athens

 

In vial, pungent body odor. On skin, BO and something sharply sweet. Thankfully, the unpleasantness starts to fade. I think it was the initial interaction between all the notes that made for the awkward beginning. Now that it wears, it becomes tart but sweet, warm, and mildly floral.

 

[2 - Dislike] That initial phase was awful.

[bryghtrose]

Ugh.

Sour wine.

[therhoda]

IT was sweet in the imp. Then on me it smelled like licorice whips, black ones, I am figuring there is anise in this and that went into over time. As it dries it evens out and was decent smelling by this evening, lasted a good long time too. It makes a better room scent though i put it in an oil burner and it was fabulous.

[akiko]

A frimp from the lab in my first order. I'd been afraid of it, because of the "sweet flowers" in the description, but it's surprisingly not headache-inducing.

 

Imp: Honey with a hint of incense

 

Wet: Same, but there's something that smells like cars. Weird, but it makes me think of modern Athens, choked with cars.

 

Dry: Ooh, nice. Mainly incense, but there's a touch of honey sweetness. I like this one, and it may be vying for the "get a bottle" list.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

partly because i live in Rome... and because Athens is only a few hours away.

 

sniffed from the imp: smells like Lush's Flying Fox shower gel.

on skin, it changes from honey-and-jasmine to clover honey and clover blossoms. nothing at all like what i was expecting, yet again. soft and pretty... but not for me.

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: wine

 

On Wet: wine (Urgh! I don't know if I can take smelling like a wino..)

 

On Dry: grape, spice and honey

 

Finale Impression: As strange as the drydown was, I really liked it.

 

Rating (on a scale from 1-5): 3.5

[prettybird]

I desperately love this scent. It's very good for everyday wear- sophisticated, smooth, and subtle. The honey really moderates the wine. I again fail to get grape, but I seem to be grape-blind or something.

 

This is definitely on my vial list.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Athens smells like a cross between O and Wanda, two of my favorite sexy scents. Together, though, O's honey and Wanda's wine seem to fight instead of blend, so I guess there's a reason why I never layer those two!